July 25, 2017 – Nearly a third of U.S. adults are not hydrated enough, and poorer adults as well as Black and Hispanic adults are at higher risk for poor hydration than wealthier and white adults, according to a new study from Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health.
“Because poor hydration status may negatively affect cognitive functioning, mood, and well-being, disparities in hydration status could lead to disparities in overall well-being and daily functioning,” said lead author Carolyn Brooks, a doctoral candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and Nutrition Departments at the Harvard Chan School.
They used urine osmolality—a measure of how concentrated a person’s urine is—to determine whether or not participants were adequately hydrated.
Then they looked at whether participants’ consumption of tap water and other drinks helped explain their hydration status—and whether differences in tap water consumption might explain the worse hydration status outcomes among Black, Hispanic, and low-income adults.
Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were 40% more likely to be inadequately hydrated compared with non-Hispanic White adults, the researchers found.
Tap water intake, which was lower among Blacks, Hispanics, and those with lower incomes, partially explained the racial/ethnic differences in hydration status.
“These findings highlight the importance of having access to healthy beverages for public health,” said senior author Erica Kenney, a research associate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Chan School.
While more research is needed, our study suggests that there are social inequities in hydration status—and ultimately wellbeing—that mirror these inequities in safe water access.” Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Steven Gortmaker, professor of the practice of health sociology and Angie Cradock, senior research scientist and deputy director of the Harvard Prevention Research Center.
photo: iStock

July 25, 2017 – Nearly a third of U.S. adults are not hydrated enough, and poorer adults as well as Black and Hispanic adults are at higher risk for poor hydration than wealthier and white adults, according to a new study from Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health.
“Because poor hydration status may negatively affect cognitive functioning, mood, and well-being, disparities in hydration status could lead to disparities in overall well-being and daily functioning,” said lead author Carolyn Brooks, a doctoral candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and Nutrition Departments at the Harvard Chan School.
They used urine osmolality—a measure of how concentrated a person’s urine is—to determine whether or not participants were adequately hydrated.
Then they looked at whether participants’ consumption of tap water and other drinks helped explain their hydration status—and whether differences in tap water consumption might explain the worse hydration status outcomes among Black, Hispanic, and low-income adults.
Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were 40% more likely to be inadequately hydrated compared with non-Hispanic White adults, the researchers found.
Tap water intake, which was lower among Blacks, Hispanics, and those with lower incomes, partially explained the racial/ethnic differences in hydration status.
“These findings highlight the importance of having access to healthy beverages for public health,” said senior author Erica Kenney, a research associate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Chan School.
While more research is needed, our study suggests that there are social inequities in hydration status—and ultimately wellbeing—that mirror these inequities in safe water access.” Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Steven Gortmaker, professor of the practice of health sociology and Angie Cradock, senior research scientist and deputy director of the Harvard Prevention Research Center.
photo: iStock

Bottled-Water Industry Growing Up in Iran.
Only less than 3% of Iranians are consumers of bottled water and that’s because 95% of the population have access to tap water, the secretary of Iran’s Mineral and Bottled Water Association said.
“Iranians drink close to 15 liters of bottled water annually whereas per capita consumption of all Persian Gulf neighboring countries exceeds 100 liters.
Turkish people drink around 140 liters of bottled water a year,” Peyman Forouhar also told the Persian monthly Ayandehnegar, a publication of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
The renovation of the country’s aging drinking water infrastructure would carry a heavy price tag and take a long time.
To set up a bottled water factory, Forouhar said, you need to invest at least 100 billion rials ($2.6 million).
Half-liter bottles constitute close to 45% of bottled water production of Iranian factories.
Forouhar added that about 1-1.5 billion liters of water are bottled in Iran every year.
Natural water means no minerals or chemicals have been removed or added to the product.
Some bottled water originates from the municipal water supply and is purified before bottling.

New Delhi, Jul 25 India will need infrastructure investment to the tune of USD 4.5 trillion by 2040, making it the second-largest market in Asia after China, says a report by G20’s Global Infrastructure Hub. The report — Global Infrastructure Outlook — outlines infrastructure investment requirements globally and individually for 50 countries and seven sectors till 2040. In terms of future needs, the second-largest infrastructure market in Asia after China is India, the report said, adding that the country’s GDP per head stands at USD 1,600 and is forecast to rise to USD 4,800 by 2040, which is still way below China’s current level of USD 8,000. “As such, while population growth in India is expected to drive significant demand for infrastructure over the next 25 years, in absolute terms, this infrastructure requirement will…

Vatican City, Jul 25, 2017 / 07:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the city of Rome and much of Italy experiences a severe drought, the Vatican has turned off its fountains in an effort to preserve water and show solidarity with the city, which may be forced to ration water to about 1 million of the city’s residents. As far as is known, this is the first time the Vatican has been forced to turn off its some 100 fountains, “so this is an exception,” Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, told Reuters TV. The water that comes into the Vatican is from the same sources as the water to the city of Rome, he said. “This is the Vatican’s way of living solidarity with Rome, trying to help Rome get through this crisis.” A prolonged heatwave in southern Europe and two years of well-below-average rainfall have caused a severe drought in Rome and the surrounding areas. The two large fountains in St. Peter’s Square – Baroque masterpieces by 17th-century sculptors Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini – were turned off Monday. All 100 fountains will be turned off gradually over the next few days, including those in the Vatican Gardens. “This decision…

War, Corporate Profiteering Among Factors Pushing Over 2 Billion To Lack Safe Drinking Water.
NEW YORK — According to a new report issued by the UN World Health Organization, approximately two billion people around the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
Global sanitation issues were also addressed in the report, including open defecation, which has dropped from 20 percent in 2000 to less than 12 percent currently.
However, these war crimes are not mentioned in the UN report.
In some nations, a lack of corporate accountability has made access to clean water unattainable for millions.
In other cases, corporations have stolen drinking water directly from communities.
But these complaints often go unrecognized at the state and federal level.
Even treated and “safe” water in the United States has been found to be contaminated.
For instance, perchlorate has been found in breast and cow’s milk throughout the country, having been transmitted to both humans and cows via contaminated drinking water.
A report last year estimated that as many as 18 million Americans are drinking water with higher levels of lead than is federally permitted.

US SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN: Clean, reliable water for all.
They give it a D. It’s a brutal assessment, but it needs to be a wake-up call for policymakers.
Access to clean drinking water is not a rural problem or a big city problem, it is not a Republican or Democrat problem, it is a national emergency and we need to find solutions before it is too late.
It is one thing to see these terrible grades on paper, but what does this actually mean for people in their day-to-day lives?
I invited him to testify during a hearing to address problems with America’s water infrastructure system and possible funding and financing investment.
Whenever he sees someone hauling water for lack of access to a well or public water system, he stops them and tells them about the assistance options that are available.
Currently, an estimated 1.7 million Americans live without access to clean, running drinking water in their homes.
We have an Administration that has made infrastructure investment a top priority, coupled with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.
Developing an infrastructure bill that directly addresses America’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure challenges must be a priority that Congress adopts and brings to fruition.
Contact Senator Boozman at his website, boozman.senate.gov or call his Washington office at (202) 224-4843.

War, Corporate Profiteering Among Factors Pushing Over 2 Billion To Lack Safe Drinking Water.
NEW YORK — According to a new report issued by the UN World Health Organization, approximately two billion people around the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water.
Global sanitation issues were also addressed in the report, including open defecation, which has dropped from 20 percent in 2000 to less than 12 percent currently.
However, these war crimes are not mentioned in the UN report.
In some nations, a lack of corporate accountability has made access to clean water unattainable for millions.
In other cases, corporations have stolen drinking water directly from communities.
But these complaints often go unrecognized at the state and federal level.
Even treated and “safe” water in the United States has been found to be contaminated.
For instance, perchlorate has been found in breast and cow’s milk throughout the country, having been transmitted to both humans and cows via contaminated drinking water.
A report last year estimated that as many as 18 million Americans are drinking water with higher levels of lead than is federally permitted.

Pope Francis shuts off Vatican fountains due to Italy drought.
The Vatican began turning off its fountains due to an ongoing drought in Italy, the BBC reported Tuesday.
This spring has been Italy’s third-driest in 60 years, and the lack of rainfall has cost the Italian agriculture sector nearly 2.3 billion dollars.
The Vatican has approximately 100 fountains, some of which are considered artistic masterpieces, and Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told the Reuters news agency that the move was the Vatican’s way of standing side by side with the city of Rome during the crisis.
"This is the Vatican’s way of living solidarity with Rome, trying to help Rome get through this crisis.
Essentially, the water that comes into the Vatican comes from the same place as where the water comes and goes to Rome, and this is our way of trying to help out the city," he continued.
A report on Vatican Radio said the decision was consistent with Pope Francis’ teachings on the environment: The Pope has denounced waste and emphasized the importance of access to clean drinking water.
"You can’t waste, and sometimes you have to be willing to make a sacrifice.
We have very beautiful gardens in the Vatican.
They might not be as green this year, but we’ll survive."

Kuwait- UN regards access to water as basic development goal.
(MENAFN – #Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BEIRUT, July 24 (KUNA) — Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in, says a recent UN report.
There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this.
But due to bad economics or poor infrastructure, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene, said the report released by United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut).
Drought afflicts some of the world’s poorest countries, worsening hunger and malnutrition, according to the report.
By 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water, it indicated.
Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy and as of 2011, represented 16 percent of total electricity production worldwide, the report showed.
The State of Kuwait, for instance, suffers a sharp scarcity of natural water resources, and is considered one of the countries that suffer most from sever weather conditions.
Its sole and limited natural water resource is subterranean water.
It serves Lebanon, Syria, #Jordan and Kuwait, and works closely with the UN family in Lebanon.